There won’t be much time for rest once the Springboks wrap up their gruelling series against the All Blacks in Baltimore this Saturday.
Straight after concluding Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, the Springboks will head to Australia to begin preparing for a one-off Test against Australia in Perth on 27 September.
A number of first-choice players who have carried a heavy workload during the series against New Zealand will be rested for the match against Australia, but it will provide an opportunity for others to bank some important game-time.
The likes of Grant Williams, Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie and Handre Pollard will all be set to return to action after missing various parts of this season due to frustrating injuries.
Others such as Aphelele Fassi, Cameron Hanekom, Paul de Villiers, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobbelaar will all aim to get some more minutes under their belt, and to hopefully make an impression before the end-of-year tour.
That period will see the Springboks finish off the year against Italy, France, Ireland before another match during the ‘finals weekend’ of the Nations Championship.
Lots for Springboks to look forward to
Once-off Test
Nations Championship (End of Year Tour)
Eyes on a big prize
Before those remaining fixtures in 2026, the Springboks will be desperate to wrap up a 3-1 series win over the All Blacks in Baltimore this Saturday.
“For this group, it would be something amazing to achieve – we’re taking this series just as seriously as we did the others,” said burly No 8 Jasper Wiese.
“The last time they toured in South Africa was in 1996, and the All Blacks won that one, so for this group to achieve a win would be something special.”
